The idea of Istanbul is almost more romantic than the city itself. The meeting-point of Asia and Europe, the confluence of cultures, ancient civilisation — clichés about Istanbul are a dime a dozen. And yet, somehow, the city manages to exceed even your high expectations, making you fall in love with it.

I spent the previous weekend at the beautiful town of Hay-on-Wye attending the annual Hay Festival. Despite the mud (and it was everywhere!), it was a fabulous weekend filled with books, interesting discussions, and an intimate mini-concert by Sandi Thom that we stumbled into almost by accident.

Sometimes in life, you may not even know that you’re in a race before you’re beaten–much like Penguin #1. That’s not particularly inspirational, but what can I say… it is a Tuesday-morning-with-a-Monday-vibe.

I enjoyed this article on how the king of masala dosas got away with murder. I haven’t actually eaten at a Saravana Bhavan in a long, long time though. The food isn’t really all that great, and every city I’ve been in has far better options for authentic South Indian…

A lovely weekend, topped off by the Carnival – Europe’s largest and second only to Brazil (I am faithfully informed by the interwebs). The riots have meant that the carnival, much like London in recent weeks, was slightly more subdued than in the past. But good cheer, colourful costumes and…

Over long travels far and wide, I have come to the great realization that I am a city person. I love the huge metropoli, with their sky-high real estate prices and crowded streets. Ever so often… usually when I’m stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon,…

Before we left, we tried to understand the term susegad. From a variety of travel guides and internet resources, we gleaned the following : Susegad, is a way of life in Goa. It’s roots lie in the portugese word socegado which – loosely transalated – means ‘laid back’. A less…

How exactly do you end up shoe-less in South Bombay on a slow Sunday evening? You could try being me for a few hours! It all started when this modern day Cinders expressed a desire to see Bombay. (Do you also get the feeling that this is going to be…

The trouble with everything is that it starts out so romantically in your head. The idea of lounging endlessly on a beach chair, watching time go by in the company of lime mint coolers and tall palms. Sitting on the steps of a train compartment at 5 am in the…